The story of "Train" by Alice Munro was first published in 2012 in Harper's magazine. This story mainly follows a man called Jackson; the man remains the focus of the whole story. We are introduced to Jackson for the first time when he jumps off a train, and he is not sure of where to go next. Munro then reveals to the reader that Jackson is approaching his home town after coming back from being enlisted to serve in the Second World War. From this story, it becomes difficult to demonstrate the role of war as the central theme as well as the source of change. The main issues in the story are sexuality as well as sexual abuse. Although both sexual abuse, together with war, are acts that involve an individual without his or her consent and further alters the ability of the individual to function correctly in society.
In the story, there is also the characterization of the creepy Mennonites as well as of Belle. The Mennonites were haunting collective from the beginning when they were introduced to the reader and their particular presence in the region where Belle was residing provided The Village-esque feeling to the setting of the story. Belle is also an interesting character with most of the description focusing on her history together with her present, and the major part of the story was in Belle's house. In doing this, the writer misdirects the reader away from Jackson and the bad choices he makes in the story. The use of the third person in some section of the tale distances Jackson from any strong personal relationships. The train is symbolic as well as a literal escape device that outlines the inability of Jackson to settle. As the story unfolds, the characters start to evolve:
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According to Munro (2012), "Coming home from so far away, from Germany and the war, he could have got mixed up in his head. It's not too late, and he would be where he was supposed to be before" (para. 5). The quote gives more information about Jackson, who is a soldier coming home from the war in Germany. However, it is evident from the quote that Jackson is not where he is supposed to be. Therefore, Alice Munro at the end of the seventh section, she gives her readers a clue:
According to Munro (2012) “ I always thought you and your sister were Mennonites but ones that wore a different kind of outfit, that shook Jackson up a little, but at least it was better ” ( para. 66). The quote portrays an exciting narrative moment since the harm that the reader anticipates on Belle does not come to pass. Jackson and Belle have, however, made a life together, but not as a couple. The quote is relevant due to its surprise and ordinariness of their way of life portraying Jackson, a man who resigned his agency in the world.
The central theme that Alice Munro portrays in the short story train is sexuality in general. Alice Munro’s main characters do not seem to be the main focus of their own lives since they drift, averting from the extensive trail. While at the same time, both war and rape incorporated in the story are acts that can involve a person without their consent, which may tend to change people's ability to function in the world. This connection also provides a better understanding to the reader of the reasons as to why Munro concentrated in the life that Jackson builds with Belle before taking it away. According to Munro (2012), “ When I come out of this, I am going to make a will,” she said. “All yours. You won’t have wasted your labors . ” (para. 92). From the story, though Jackson does not plan on living Belle, they end up living together on the farm. Additionally, Jackson does not make any conscious decisions to jump off the train, but instead, he follows it along. According to Alice Munro, Jackson does not seem to decide to leave Belle; thus, he wanders off as he simultaneously finds himself on the fringe of another life. Later:
According to Munro (2012), “…….. though he would have expressed a truthful and companionable hope that nothing would happen too soon. But no. It all seemed quite to have little to do with him, to be quite far away . ” (para. 93) This quote portrays an interesting fact to the reader . The final sentence "It all seemed quite to have little to do with him, to be quite far away ” (para. 93) is contrary to what most readers would have expected to be Jackson’s motive which is to buy the house. At this point in the story, it is still not clear what the primary motivation for Jackson is. The last sentence “ Then it came to him quite easily, that a person could just not be there ” (para. 93) provides an understanding of why Jackson got off at the wrong train station as well as a better understanding of what he was trying to avoid. Though Alice Munro portrays Jackson as a married man with one daughter, there is a realization that he was trying to avoid to be with a woman he wanted to be with. From the story, Jackson wants nothing to with Ileane, which transpires for him to move on again.
Alice Munro's stories mainly The Train is based on the chronicle emotion development of both girls and women . Additionally, Alice Munro's characters portrayed in her stories are real women, which she comes across throughout her journey of life.
According to Prabhakar & Satish (2011), “The stories are all to do with discovering personal freedom within an accepted curtailment. There is no intentional nostalgia although, strangely enough, one frequently finds oneself rather wistfully caught up. ” (para. 5) . The quote is relevant since it portrays a few winning moments but not a winning pot for Jackson. This means that the story of the train is merely a conveyance, once the reader gets over the wonder of it working at all. Though there is no portrayal of destination, the story should be in the goal where it ends as it simultaneously makes fresh stops
References
Prabhakar, M., & Satish, K. V., (2011). Alice Munro's Stories and Feminism. Cyber Literature: The International Online Journal-Literature, Humanities & Communication Technologies , 4 (1), 57-61.
